Central Idea

• The International Water Action Conference held by the United Nations in March 2023, which resulted in over 670 commitments from various governments, multilateral institutions, businesses, and non-governmental organizations to address water security issues. There are implications of these commitments which needs to be examined the challenges associated with achieving universal, safe, affordable, and equitable access to water in line with SDG 6.

The Water Action Conference and its objective

• First UN conference on freshwater: The Water Action Conference held in March 2023 was the first UN conference on freshwater in almost 50 years.
• Aims to advance water agenda and achieve SDG 6: The conference aimed to review the Water Action Decade 2018-2028, which aims to advance the water agenda and achieve SDG 6, sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Themes of the conference

The Conference has five themes that support the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework:

1. Water for Health: Access to ‘WASH’ (Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene) including the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
2. Water for Sustainable Development: Valuing water, the water-energy-food nexus and sustainable economic and urban development.
3. Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment: Source to sea, biodiversity, climate, resilience and disaster risk reduction.
4. Water for Cooperation: Transboundary and international water cooperation, cross sectoral cooperation and water across the 2030 Agenda.
5. Water Action Decade: Accelerating the implementation of the objectives of the Decade for Action, including through the UN Secretary-General’s Action Plan.

What is Water Action Decade (2018–2028)?

• In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution International Decade (2018–2028) for Action Water for Sustainable Development to help put a greater focus on water during ten years.
• It aims to advance the water agenda by energizing existing programs and projects and inspiring water action to achieve the 2030 Agenda, in particular, Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which envisions the sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
• The initiative focuses on promoting action-oriented partnerships to improve water resources management, water-use efficiency, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation services. The Decade aims to create a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences, promoting innovation, and building capacity for sustainable water management.

The International Water Action Agenda and commitments made

• International Water Action Agenda: The conference resulted in the international Water Action Agenda, to which over 670 commitments were made by governments, multilateral institutions, businesses, and non-governmental organizations to address water security issues.
• Commitments are voluntary: Nearly 164 governments and 75 multilateral organizations made commitments, but these commitments are voluntary and legally non-binding.

Implications of commitments made

• The commitments embodied in the Water Action Agenda must be scrutinized to see whether they will yield universal, safe, affordable, and equitable access to water that is consistent with SDG 6.
• Meeting this target by 2030 will require capital expenditures of $114 billion per year.
• The recurring operations and maintenance for basic water and sanitation service (WASH) costs are estimated to rise from about $4 billion to over $30 billion per year by 2030.

Challenges associated with achieving SDG 6

• Funding: Funding from regional, national, and international sources prioritizes new water infrastructure rather than water maintenance services, resulting in decreased service for water customers.
• Investment: The investment required would require valuing water, which in turn requires robust water measurement and accounting.
• Limitations: There are serious limitations in our knowledge about the volume, flux and quality of water in lakes, rivers, soils and aquifers. There are huge gaps in water usage data.

India’s commitments and challenges

• India made two significant commitments at the conference:

1. An investment of $240 billion in the water sector and
2. Efforts to restore groundwater levels.

• However, groundwater extraction in India increased from 58% to 63% between 2004-17, further exacerbated by climate change resulting in intermittent rainfall, which further undermines the recharge potential.
• The revised Groundwater Bill 2017 vests State groundwater boards with creating laws, managing water allocation and other relevant issues.
• The State boards are understaffed, and lack in expertise and prioritizing socio-political conflicts over groundwater resources.

Facts for prelims

Conclusion

• The international Water Action Conference resulted in over 670 commitments to address water security issues. These commitments are voluntary and legally non-binding, but they are expected to inspire collective political will to address the many water challenges.

Mains Question

Q. What is Water action decade? Discuss the challenges associated with achieving universal, safe, affordable, and equitable access to water in line with SDG 6.

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